A movement to enact a private school voucher program in Texas suffered a potentially fatal blow on Thursday with an overwhelming House vote to bar use of state money for vouchers or tax credit scholarships. House members approved an amendment to the state budget bill that says no state money can be used to support private schools, either through vouchers or tax credits used to fund scholarships. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in approving the amendment 103-43.

Efforts to pass either a voucher bill or a tax credit scholarship bill had been bogged down in recent weeks and neither idea had cleared committees in the Senate or House. House Speaker Joe Straus had said several weeks ago that he saw little support for vouchers in his chamber. But Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick promoted school choice options before the start of the session, and Patrick’s committee has a pair of tax credit scholarship bills pending. Those bills would offer tax credits to businesses that make donations to provide scholarships for students in low-performing public schools to transfer to either private or religious schools.

This is not the first time the House has put the brakes on school voucher efforts. In 2007, the House also voted overwhelmingly to ban use of state funds for private schools – an action that froze all discussion of vouchers for several years. Vouchers advocates have cited the thousands of students trapped in low-rated schools as justification for providing them a way out, even to private schools. But public education supporters have pointed to the massive funding cuts for schools two years ago, arguing that schools would only lose more money if students are allowed to leave the system. They also contend the Texas Constitution prohibits use of tax dollars for private or religious schools.